Get Involved With Tokyo Tiger!
Japanese fashion is a mega hit in Europe right now, just as it always has been. This is not a new thing by any stretch as we’ve often taken the Japanese lead when it comes to what we wear, but I bet you didn’t know that did you?! You probably know all about Japanese food, restaurants and other pop culture but fashion might not be where you think about Japan – let’s change that!
If you’ve not heard how popular Japanese fashion is then you’ve obviously not heard of Hyper Japan, a show which comes to London two or three times every year to showcase and sell all the very best from cartoons, to food, with everything in between, from Japanese culture. My kids absolutely love Japanese snacks for example and would spend hours pouring over the different cookies and sweets, not to mention the cartoons – we have been fans of Totoro for a long time (if you don’t know who he is then do check him out, he’s a bit of an icon actually)! But move over video games, step aside snacks and art and movies and cartoons… At the forefront of everything we love about Japanese culture is, of course, the fashion!
That real legendary Japanese look is always a winner no matter where you are in the world! Japanese style clothing has long been considered golden in the UK of course, and with teens taking on the trendy styles in London, and the country over, it’s easy to see why! At the forefront of all things mod-con, fashion is no exception merging innovation with clothing seamlessly and this is something that only the Japanese can do while we merely look on and follow. They are absolute style and fashion leaders!
So, whether it’s Japanese t shirts, or even Japanese vintage clothing, (and boy is the vintage clothing of Japan something worth looking into – like works of art and something straight out of a gallery, the history of modern fashion being influenced by the ancestry of Japan is definitely something to behold) which grabs your attention, you need to set your sights in that direction to be fully abreast of the here and the now. In fact, it might be a surprise to learn that some of the world’s leading fashion designers hail from Japan – you might see things on the catwalks of Milan, London and Paris thinking everything is inspired by the Europeans but nine times out of ten you’d be wrong!
Almost everything of what we wear in wester culture will have a hint, or a nod to designers from over there and where fashion begins as a tiny seed, growing and blooming in many directions, it’s Japan we can thank for baggy jeans, just like the ones teens are wearing all over the show today. It’s Japan who brought us the tiny tank top, and super high heels and Japan we look to, even if we don’t know it, for the styles of tomorrow too!
Hyper Japan might be the place to see and be seen this year after all!
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